JOIN US! Upcoming Events and Engagement Opportunities

SOS and our coalition partners and allies are organizing events and activities across the region to educate and inspire, and engage and mobilize the public and policymakers to act, develop, and implement a comprehensive regional solution that protects and restores Snake River wild salmon and steelhead and invests in Northwest communities. 

Please join us at these upcoming events - to speak up for the Columbia-Snake River Basin, its wild salmon and steelhead, Southern Resident orcas, and to support Northwest Tribes.

If you have questions or want to get more involved, please contact Abby Dalke at abby@wildsalmon.org. To take action now, visit our action alert page!

Upcoming Events & Engagement Opportunities 

June 2025: Orca Action Month
When: Throughout the month of June
Where: Online and in-person
What: June is Orca Action Month! Orca Action Month is an annual series of events intended to raise awareness about the threats facing critically endangered Southern Resident orcas, educate the public on what we can all do to protect them, and build a community to celebrate these magnificent beings. This year’s theme, Threads of Life: Connecting Orcas, People, and the Future We Share, reminds us that we’re all woven into the same web of life. From the rivers that feed our salmon to the actions we take each day, everything is connected. When we protect orcas, we protect the future for all of us.

Visit orcamonth.org for a list of upcoming virtual and live events throughout the month of June.

June 14: All Our Relations: A Majestic Matriarchy
When: Saturday, June 14
Where: St. Joseph Parish, Seattle, WA
What: Please join us for A Majestic Matriarchy on Saturday, June 14 from 6:30 – 8:30pm at St. Joseph Parish, Seattle, WA, with a Netse Mot: A Gathering Meal from 5:00-6:30 pm! This event will focus on Indigenous women to comfort, celebrate, and bring attention to our Southern Resident orca relatives. Native peoples have a deep affinity with the matriarchal lifeway of our majestic Resident relatives who rely on the older females for stability, especially in times of crisis. A grave crisis is now upon them, their existence is imperiled.

Join us to listen, learn, and be inspired by the heartfelt words, visions, and voices of Indigenous women leaders. Tickets are available on a sliding scale basis and free for Indigenous Peoples. 

A Majestic Matriarchy is presented by Se’Si’Le, an Indigenous-led nonprofit in Washington State, and supported by a coalition of NGOs and faith-based partners.

June 21: Salmon on Salmon Street Painting Party
When: Saturday, June 21 at 4-7pm
Where: 1006 SE Salmon St Portland, OR 97214 (Southeast Salmon Street & Southeast 10th Avenue)
What: Southeast Salmon Street in Portland is a beautiful Neighborhood Greenway, and we want to make it even better by painting a school of salmon swimming up the street. Come hang out with us while we do it at this block party!

Strong towns PDX is a local neighborhood group who loves creating small actions to make it city better! This event is a part of City Repair's Village Building Convergence (VBC), and also supported and inspired by the organizers of the Salmon Life Cycle Ride (Pacific Rivers and Save Our Wild Salmon coalition).

June 26: Yakama Nation Willamette Falls Lamprey Celebration 2025
When: Thursday, June 26 · 11am - 3pm
Where: Clackamette RV Park, 1955 Clackamette Drive Oregon City, OR 97045 
What: Join Yakama Nation's Willamette Falls Lamprey Celebration. The event includes cultural and educational activities, including speeches from tribal leaders and salmon conservation experts, a live demonstration of the traditional lamprey fillet and preservation techniques, and much more. Drummers will provide live singing while dancers showcase cultural performances. Included in the festivities is a recurring 25-minute guided boat tour to Willamette Falls, where education on the historical and cultural significance of the falls will be given. Attendees are also welcome to a share a culturally significant meal consisting of tribal-caught lamprey and salmon, provided and cooked by Yakama Nation Fisheries staff.

August 5: Salmon Life Cycle
When: Tuesday, August 5
Where: Portland, OR
What: Join Greater Hells Canyon Council, Pacific Rivers, and Save Our wild Salmon on a bike ride to show support for a free-flowing lower Snake River and the recovery of Columbia Basin salmon on Aug 5, 2025, 6:00pm!

Let’s get together for a fun bike ride centered on environmental activism and a shared love of free-flowing rivers!

July 31-August 5: Snoqualmie Tribe Canoe Journey, Paddle to Lower Elwha
When: July 31 - August 5
Where: See Canoe Journey route here.
What: Dams Removed – A River Reborn – Spirits Renewed. The Snoqualmie Tribe’s Culture Department is hosting this year’s Canoe Journey, Paddle to Lower Elwha: ʔéʔɬx̣ʷaʔ nəxʷsƛ̕áy̕əm̕ Strong People (July 21, 2025 – August 5, 2025).

The Canoe Journey “Journey” was formed for the revival of the Canoe Culture of our ancestors, and to educate those of these practices. It is the largest event held by Native Americans in the Northwest region and is hosted by different Tribes in the US and Canada.

August 15 - August 16: Envisioning A Restored Lower Snake River Flotilla
When: Friday August 15 - Saturday August 16
Where: Hells Gate State Park, Idaho
What: Nimiipuu Protecting the Environment is hosting a Flotilla on August 15 – 16th! The two-day event will include an outdoor evening film screening The Grand Salmon, live music, interactive art, food, including delicious wild salmon from The Oatmans (Nez Perce family-owned business), and a Flotilla with speakers highlighting the benefits and impact of a restored, healthy, and vibrant river.

RSVP coming soon!

August 22 - August 24: Sawtooth Salmon Festival
When: Friday August 22 - Sunday August 24
Where: Stanley, Idaho
What: Join a free community celebration of the 900-mile journey of Idaho’s salmon from the ocean to Redfish Lake in Stanley, Idaho! The festival, hosted by Idaho Rivers United and Sawtooth Interpretive & Historical Association, will have live music, salmon tours and viewing, Tribal dancers, speakers, kid’s activities, crafts, artists and vendors, and more!

Visit sawtoothsalmonfestival.org to learn more about the festival.

Watch All Our Relations: Tribute to the Orca  
What: All Our Relations: Tribute to the Orca is a moving 7-minute film drawing from an Orca Action Month Indigenous-centered event hosted by Se’Si’Le, an Indigenous-led nonprofit organization, in collaboration with Salish Sea and Northern Straits Native Nations and NGOs.

The film highlights Indigenous communities' ancient kinship with orcas and salmon, and the importance of reciprocity in our relationship with our caretaker: Mother Nature. A special focus is on the Southern Resident orcas whose survival, like the survival of Indigenous lifeways here in the Pacific Northwest, depends on scha’enexw (the Salmon People).

Fall 2025: RECIPROCITY Webinar Series
When: Fall 2025
Where: Online via Zoom 
What: Save Our wild Salmon Coalition is hosting a new webinar series: RECIPROCITY! It will focus on respecting and caring for salmon and their special relationship to the health of ecosystems, our lands and waters, and other species and people. 

Check out the Spring webinar recordings here and stay tuned for our fall webinars featuring experts and storytellers who share their experiences, collaborative work, and stories of reciprocity to help recover healthy and abundant salmon populations in the Columbia-Snake Rivers and the benefits they bring to the Northwest and the nation.

Sponsored by: Natural Encounters Conservation Fund

Past Events

The Grand Salmon Film Screening
What: Following three women on a 78-day paddling expedition, The Grand Salmon explores the effects of four dams on the Lower Snake River and their impact throughout the watershed on rapidly dwindling wild salmon populations. For over 1,000 miles, these women navigate the same waterways wild salmon have for generations, connecting the source of the Salmon River to the Pacific Ocean. From high water to extreme temperatures, this team not only faces the same natural challenges the fish do each year, but brings viewers along to experience what the construction of these dams has done to our ecosystems and wildlife. Stay tuned for film screenings near you!

March 26, 2025: For the Love of Orcas: An Evening of Art and Poetry
What: For the Love of Orcas: An Evening of Art and Poetry featured poetry, prose, and artwork. Leading up to this evening event, Gabriel kayaked over three days from Seattle to Olympia to deliver hundreds of postcards from Washington citizens and gift an original piece of his 46-piece collection of ‘orca artwork’ to the Governor. 

Hosted by: Endangered Species Coalition, Save Our wild Salmon, Braided River, Washington Conservation Action, Sierra Club

March 6, 2025: Generations of Feminist Ecologies in Land Stewardship and Restoration
What: The Generations of Feminist Ecologies in Land Stewardship and Restoration event hosted two panels consisting of tribal leaders from the Salish Sea bioregion moderated by historian Alexandra Peck. The panels will bridge generational gaps and explore the traditional roles of indigenous women in land stewardship. Our speakers will also reflect on historical challenges, triumphs, and knowledge systems while fostering dialogue about current and future environmental and indigenous initiatives.

March 5, 2025: Salmon Solutions Speaker Series
What: Students for Climate Action WWU hosted their first installment of their speaker series with Tanya Riordan from Save Our wild Salmon! Tanya shared her insights into how we can advance sustainable solutions for our ecosystems, recover endangered keystone species, and honor Tribal cultures and Treaty Rights through recovering Pacific Salmon.

March 1, 2025: Sacred Salmon Town Hall
What: Inspired by the Washington State Catholic Bishop’s Call for Plan to Care for Creation and the Common Good in the Lower Snake River and “to develop and implement a holistic plan for the Lower Snake River region that seeks input from the Original Peoples of Washington state as principal dialogue partners,” the Sacred Salmon Town Hall, led by Jesuit students and Native peoples, will be an opportunity for faithful collective action to public officials, along with prayer, ritual and next steps to take the work home.

 February 12, 2025: Lower Snake River Recreation Study Online Workshop
What: Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office’s online workshop hosted an informative evening discussing all things recreation along the lower section of the Snake River. The Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) are studying current outdoor recreation activities along the lower Snake River, and what future recreational activities and facilities would be desired if the four Lower Snake River dams are breached and the reservoirs lowered. Visit snakeriverrecreation.com to learn more about the study.

February 11, 2025: SOS' Inland Northwest Shoal Introduction
What: A free lower Snake River will bring countless recreation and economic opportunities for communities in the Inland Northwest (INW). We can restore the lower Snake River within the salmon’s urgent timeline, but we must show strong support from INW communities. Get involved today by joining SOS’ new Salmon Advocate Shoal program! Questions? Email Abby S. at abbys@wildsalmon.org.

February 4 - 5, 2025: Lower Snake River Water Supply Replacement Study Open House
What: The Bureau of Reclamation and the Washington State Department of Ecology hosted two public open houses and seeking comments on the draft lower Snake River Water Supply Replacement Study. The draft study makes clear that with the right investments, water users can adapt to a restored river while ensuring salmon populations have a chance to recover from the brink of extinction. Learn more about the draft lower Snake River Water Supply Replacement Report here.

January 25, 2025: Coextinction Film Screening
What: Join WashPIRG, American Cetacean Society - Puget Sound Chapter, Orca Conservancy, Se’Si’Le, Save Our Wild Salmon, and partners for a screening of Coextinction! Coextinction is a Canadian documentary film that addresses the multitude of threats impacting the critically endangered Southern Resident killer whales and Indigenous communities.